For Tonight
by lostinsidesaveme
Summary: Newly Revised Story For Tonight For tonight, James has had some bad news, who should catch him reacting to it. Long story. Sorry to old readers about alerts! Forgot it deletes them when you delete and restart the story!
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, this is my newly MAJORLY edited Marauder fiction piece. I stopped it because frankly I hated it, I was such a teenager with "emotional angst" then and it makes me cringe to read this story. Therefore it is going to change, it's now not going to start with such a ridiculous, depressing start (though it will have the same plot), and the title will stay the same to avoid confusion. Unfortunately the chapters arent likely to be long, I just dont have the time so I apolgise for that in advance. **

**Any who have read this the first time through, I would urge you to read this from the start again, it will change slightly and frankly Im hoping that by reading this, the memory of my old version will be forever lost from your memory...**

**I hope you enjoy and please review!**

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"Dammit!" Lily hoisted herself off the floor slowly with a low moan, rubbing her lower back. 

"Who's there?" Lily jumped and twirled around fast, looking for the voice.

"Me" she replied into the dark. Lily's brain started to question the idiocy of calling out "me" in the dark. People do it on the phones and behind doors, like you will automatically know who "me" is. Lily shook her head of this ridiculous notion.

"Lily? Where are you?"

She recognized the voice now, James Potter. With another quiet groan, not because of her sore back, she started to walk to where she assumed the voice was coming from. She hated the guy but she couldn't help but be intrigued of why he was sitting in the dark at midnight. When she reached him, she noticed a soft glow emitting from under the blanket on his lap.

"That your wand under there or you just pleased to see me Potter?" she asked teasingly. She almost laughed as she saw the pure shock written on James's face when he lifted the blanket out of the way, revealing the wand and the rays of light that hit his face.

James recovered quickly though, grinning he says: "Oh you know Lilykins that I'm always pleased to see your beautiful self"

Lily rolls her eyes and throws herself on the couch next to him. "So what brings you out to the pitch blackness Potter?"

James is silent for a moment, then turned his face towards hers, and Lily swears she caught trails of wet lines down his face but the light was moved before she can verify it. "I got a letter"

Lily's heart dropped. Everyone in Hogwarts knows what those four words meant. "Who was it?" she asked quietly.

"My-p-parents" James whispered, his voice hitching slightly on the 'p'.

"Oh merlins beard" Lily shuffled closer to James turning to fully face his body, "James" Neither missed this change in name but nothing was mentioned except a slight light to James's eyes "I'm so sorry, if there is anything I can do, anything, please let me know ok. I know we don't have the best track record for talking" Lily is almost pleased to see James smile wryly at this "but I'm here if you need me"

James turned his head away again, trying desperately to swallow the hard lump that seems to be lodged in his throat. Its ironic, he thinks, the one time he can talk to Lily without it being insults, he's going to cry like a baby. He could almost hear Sirius's mocking laugh inside his head.

He had received the letter this morning, a black letter. His parents had been killed. Two of the best Aurors killed by one spell.

Anger coursed through his veins now and he picked up the closest thing to him which happened to be the lamp on the table beside him and threw it as hard as he could at the wall. He saw Lily jump and heard her loud gasp but he ignores it. Merlin he felt so angry.

James got up and paced around the room, not really watching where he was going "This war is ridiculous isn't it Lily?" Not waiting for a reply he rambled on "I'm not seeing the point in it, Why are wizards killing wizards, at the rate Voldermort is going he wont have any to control over if he ever does win this sodding war" He only stopped his musings when he went head first into the wooden column that stood proudly in the middle of the room, presumably holding the ceiling up. James stared at it like it was poison and reared his leg back to kick it in frustration.

"James!" Lily cried, jumping from the chair and pulling him away, she grabbed his head so he's looking directly at him, she probed gently at the small cut on his otherwise surprisingly clean, smooth forehead. It wouldn't need a trip to the Infirmary she decided as she draws out her wand from her pocket, Just a quick healing spell.

James is silent through this whole examination, only breathing heavily and staring at Lily's eyes. His mind seems to be in full self pity mode tonight because staring at those beautiful emerald coloured eyes, he sadly realises that he must have been kidding himself when he thought he could win Lily's heart. She was perfect. He sighs and gently pries himself away from the warm hands resting on his cheeks. "I'm alright Lily, just a scrape"

Lily frowned, James wasn't known for his rapid mood swings but she notices the sudden change from anger to the suffocating sadness that was now radiating off him. "James its ok to be upset about your parents you know, I understand"

"Right" James muttered glumly, kicking the toes of his shoes into the rug beneath him. He lifted his head and met Lily's eyes again "Well I should probably let you go; to bed I mean, its late, I don't want to make you tired for class in the morning. Ill be fine"

Lily looked wary "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely" James walked back over to the sofa and picked up a random book that someone had obviously left behind "I'm not tired, Ill probably just sit here for a bit" He stared down at the open page in front of him. The words are blurred and he reached for his glasses but the words are still blurred. He tried to blink rapidly to clean his sight but it just makes it worse. Now his nose is running. He hoped to Merlin, Lily wouldn't pick up on this slight problem.

Lily stood there in the dark, silent, just watching James pretend to read. Of course she had noticed he wasn't reading, a moron could tell. She was tired and she was worried about class tomorrow but as she stood there watching this boy who had caused her so much grief since they first met years ago, she realised she couldn't leave him. Not tonight anyhow.

Creeping forward hesitantly James's face caught in the light and Lily felt a heavy load of pity smack painfully into her chest; behind his thin wiry glasses, Jame's usually twinkling hazel eyes now dull and bloodshot with tears cascading from them at an alarming rate. It was a pathetic sight to behold.

Her heart skipped a beat when James looked suddenly up right into her eyes. The sight made any hatred for him disappear in a nano second and she knelt down and wound her arms tightly round him.


	2. Chapter 2

Lily woke up on something soft. Not pillow soft but warm. Comfortable. Closing her eyes, she inhaled the smell of her pillow, picking up hints of soap and aftershave and sighed contentedly. It was only when she realises her "pillow" was breathing that she opened her eyes. She groaned loudly at the sight that greeted her. James Potter. A very close up picture of James Potter. A, admittedly, not particularly bad view of James Potter. She scoffed at the irony. Perfect.

She turned her head around to survey the situation. Obviously they had both fallen asleep sometime last night whilst she held him. She was trapped between his body and his arms, both still wrapped around her. It was only when she noticed his left hand slowly fallen down onto her butt that she become aware that he was awake as well.

"Move it or lose it buddy" She growled into James's ear. She could see the slightest hint of a smirk giving him away. She'd smack him if her arm wasn't pinned under his back. His eyes opened.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you to take full advantage of the good things in life Evans" James whispered back into her ear. She tried to ignore the slight shiver that went down her spine as his hot breath made her hair waver.

Lily scoffed "Didn't your mother ever tell you that you should only play with things if they are yours or you have permission from the owner"

James smirk got bigger but then disappeared quickly as his eyes slid slowly shut. Full memory of the night before hit him and the talk of mothers struck a note in his chest; it was way out of tune and painful to hear. He sighed heavily, his head started to hum loudly at him. He felt like a grain of sand on the beach when the tide came in and washed him back and forth with each powerful wave - tiny, hugely insignificant and terribly confused as the ocean pounded at him mercifully.

"You alright James?" He heard Lily ask quietly over the dull roar of the waves. He was getting dizzy now.

His response was drowned out by the loud clatter of people coming out of the dorms and into the common snapped him out of whatever trance he was in. Damn, he hadn't realised it was that late in the morning. He wished he had his cloak and could just whisk Lily and himself under it and disappear forever. But reality beckoned with a loud ring, it couldn't be ignored.

He shivered when Lily moved off his torso to stand. He found it odd she hadn't moved when she first woke up. He assumed she would jump up like she had just fallen in toxic waste. But she hadn't. He was now cold and he wanted her back, he knew this was the end. She would go back to being cold to him; he would forever be "Potter" to her.

But she surprised him; he watched as she quickly scanned around the common room looking, presumably for any fellow students and then she dips to kiss his cheek gently. Her soft lips held to his cheek for what felt years, but then she stands back up and avoids his eyes, all of a sudden embarrassed by what she had done and says: "Listen, James" she speaks his name slowly, as if testing it out "Last night doesn't mean that that we are instantly ok with each other, I need you to understand that, I'm here if you need me, at any time, just find me but I need time to adjust to this" she waves her hand round aimlessly "whatever this is"

James nods mutely. Disappointment, heartened and hopeful all at the same time. She would see where this "friendship" would go, that's a start, James thought. I can manage with that. He stands slowly, his knees clicking in place from a rough night on the small couch "Got it Evans"

Lily thought for a second, "Lily"

"Excuse me?" James asked confused

"Lily. You can call me Lily. Not Evans"

"Lily" James pronounced the name slowly, carefully, as if it were glass. "Lily it is" he smiled at her.


End file.
